We checked out the house which our Airbnb host Valeria showed us excitedly. She showed us the loft we were going to stay. She also left us some pamphlets for the city tour and buses we can take to move about in the city. She left us in our room asking us to call her if we need anything. We decided to change and move out for dinner. I opened my bag for a change of clothes and my husband ‘tried’ to do the same. His lock in his bag wouldn’t budge. The numbers on the lock were correct but it was not opening. I tried, he tried and I again tried a lot of times. Then I connected to the WiFi and saw some videos on YouTube about how to open a lock on suitcase if you have forgotten the sequence. I tried two or three tricks so much so that my hands started to pain. But on the last attempt, the lock clicked open and I let out a sigh of relief. Thank God!
Well we had wasted an hour trying to open the lock and there was no chance that we would freshen up and head out to eat at that time of the night, so we ate chips and biscuits which we had in our bags. We crashed in our beds without thinking at all about dinner. I had booked a boat ride in the island of Capri for the morning but the way we were tired, I didn’t think it would be possible for us to get out of bed and travel all the way to the island. I switched on the WiFi in my phone and had a chat on Whatsapp with guy who was to take us. He informed that the weather was going to be really nice the next day and it will be good if we reached there the next day. I told him that we’ll try and dozed off to sleep. I woke up to the smell of coffee at 8 in the morning and instantly had a smile on my face. I woke up Jerry, my husband and asked him if he was in mood to head out to Capri Islands. He said yes, we can go. So we quickly freshened up, locked our bags and went downstairs to the aromatic smell of the coffee.
Valeria served us with some good breakfast and coffee. We had a long chat with her on the breakfast table. She is a writer, she told us. She writes children’s story books. She showed us a few books. From the look of her apartment, we knew something of that sort must be up. She informed us that one couple from Germany was staying also there. We left the apartment at about 10.30 after asking directions from Valeria to reach the port where we could take a ferry to Capri islands.
We took the flight of stairs and stepped out of the giant door onto the cobbled street in front of us. Morning looked so different. It was a bit cold so we were wearing jackets. We moved towards our right and came to a staircase which took us down to a road.
Naples is a hilly city. You will find staircases and funiculars all around the city to prove that. We crossed the road and kept walking until we saw the ‘M’ sign of Vanvitelli metro. We went to the underground metro and bought day passes. Then we waited for the train which took us to Porto station where the port is situated.
We came out of the metro and instantly I realized that we still had not bought a SIM card. We asked around and reached a shop. We inquired a bit and bought a TIM card of 25 euros. The guy quickly removed my SIM and inserted the new one which started working in a few minutes. We asked the guy for directions to the port and moved ahead. The sea looked beautiful. We approached the ticket counter and asked for the ferry to Capri. 22 Euros/person he told us. OMG! That’s a bit too much. But having no other options we bought the tickets and waited for the ferry while gazing at the sea. Cool winds blew through my hair. Hunger pangs started to kick in soon.
I had a chat with the boat trip guy and informed him that we were coming to Capri. Capri is an island off the shore of Naples. We went aboard and the ferry sailed into the sea. Seat numbers were not allotted so people took whatever place they got. We sat in the middle seats. Ferries were pretty decent with food aboard and toilets too. It must have taken us 45 mins to reach the island. A narrow path led us to the main island. Ships and ferries lined the shore. I texted Salvatore, the Capri boat guy, that we have reached the shore. He asked us to stay there and he’ll come and get us. Both of us were hungry. We looked around for some café or something. In the meantime, a tall white guy with spectacles on greeted us with a big smile. Preeti? Salvatore!
We said our greetings and he asked us to follow him. I asked him whether we could eat something first. He said of course! We entered a Deli, a shop selling cooked meats, cheeses, and unusual or foreign prepared foods. We quickly looked around and ordered two sandwiches with tomato and chicken. They prepared it quickly. We paid 4 euros and came back to Salvatore. He said you can eat on the boat if you want as the weather is good and we should not delay the trip anymore if we wanted to see the Blue grotto.
The Blue Grotto is a sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, southern Italy. Sunlight, passing through an underwater cavity and shining through the seawater, creates a blue reflection that illuminates the cavern. We definitely did not want to miss that. We hopped on his boat and sat while he started the engine. In this boat he took us around the island in 2 hours. Beautiful clear water, a view of the island from sea, Faraglioni di capri. It got colder as we headed forward. Even in my jacket I was feeling cold.
We reached the blue grotto and saw a cave like opening through which the boats were entering. Salvatore called a boat guy and asked us to get on his boat. He told us to pay him whatever we wished. The entry ticket to the blue grotto costs 14 euros/person. We bought the tickets from a boat that was embarked near the cave and entered the cave laying our low. For a few seconds, we couldn’t see anything. After a few seconds we looked behind us where the sun rays were entering through the crevice in the cave and causing it to seem a different shade f pearly blue. Our boat guy started singing some romantic Italian song while we were mesmerized by the colors in the cave. In a minute he rowed the boat outside the cave and we tipped him 5 euros.
When we moved ahead, it almost started raining and it felt really cold on the boat. We completed the trip and paid Salvatore. We had fixed this deal for 140 euros. But he gave 20 euros back to us saying it was raining and we couldn’t enjoy to the fullest. Such a gentle man! We talked to him a lot on the boat. Stuff about how his grandfather had started this business and he was the one who first came to the island. His family was staying here since then. We bade farewell to Salvatore upon reaching the shore. To book a trip with him, you can contact him through Whatsapp on +39 3285927977 or contact him through his website.
By this time, we were hungry so we went to a restaurant and sat there. We ordered gnocchi, pizza and some red wine there. In that cool breeze, the wine heated our insides. Food was delicious.
We paid and got up so we could see the island a bit more. There were buses which took people to the center of the city for 2 euros. We took the bus and got down at the center. Expensive brand stores lined both side of the road. We were walking through the lane when we saw a gelato shop. We bought our first gelatos there. It was a bit costly around 3 euros for two flavors but was worth it. We walked around this part of the city for a while and then took the bus back to the port as we had to catch the last ferry to Naples which was at 4 p.m.
We bought tickets to Naples and the tickets this time came in cheap around 12 euros/person. Even the ferry was better than the first one. Insides of the ferry were sort of like a hall where chairs were located at the border. We could even get on the deck and see the approaching city through the dusk. This view was worth the chill I was feeling in every inch of my body because of the cool winds
Naples came and we got down the ferry. It was not dark yet and we walked towards the nearest metro from there. Apparently another station, Toledo was nearer to where the ferry had docked. We went to the metro and headed back to the apartment.
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